1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety device for supporting a pedal, in particular a braking pedal, in a motor vehicle and including a bearing support for supporting a pedal shaft of the pedal and arranged between a wall portion of a front wall of the motor vehicle, which is noticeably deformed inward into a passenger compartment during a frontal collision of the passenger compartment in a spaced relationship with the respect to the front wall, is secured to a motor vehicle body, and does not substantially change its spacial position during the frontal collision. The pedal shaft is retained in the bearing support which, under normal operational conditions of the motor vehicle, absorbs the reaction forces generated upon actuation of the pedal necessitated by the normal operational conditions of the motor vehicle. During a frontal collision of the motor vehicle, the pedal shaft is released by a release mechanism supported on the cross-member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During a collision of a motor vehicle, there exists a danger that as a result of deformation of the front of the vehicle, the parts arranged in the region of the front wall of the vehicle such as, e.g., the steering gear or braking elements, in particular, the brake power booster will be displaced inward in the direction toward the passenger compartment, in particular, toward the driver.
Therefore, different means for removal of the operational devices which are arranged in the region of the driver's seat, in case of an accident and, in particular, in case of a frontal collision, were proposed. Thus, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/128,357 U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,894 assigned to the assignee of the present invention contemplates providing in the bearing support radially open support of bearing means in which the pedal shaft is supported and which absorbs reaction forces generated during actuation of the pedal which is necessitated by operational conditions of the vehicle, and by further providing means for lifting the pedal shaft of the bearing support in case of a frontal collision. The lifting means is formed as a sheet metal member having a U-shaped end portion which engages the pedal shaft from beneath. The solution proposed by U.S. application Ser. No. 09/128,357 U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,894 insures, in comparison with the previous solutions, a substantially improved safety in the region of the foot area in front of the driver's seat but it is associated with relatively large expenses connected with providing means for effecting displacement of the lifting means.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the operational reliability of the safety device disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/128,357 U.S Pat. No. 6,101,894 while reducing the costs associated with its manufacture and mounting.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the mounting space necessary to accommodate the safety device in the motor vehicle.